Planet Athion: The Complete Series by Angel Lawson

79

Mercy

The processhere is similar to the ship, although less organized. The brothel isn’t for auctions, but there is a large main room with a stage and a lounge in the back.

Alex, under the instruction of other guards, ushers me to the lounge.

Two dozen sets of eyes land on me when I walk through the door and a small murmur rolls through the group. Alex stands against the wall and I warily walk in, pretending to be scared.

Okay, it’s not all pretend. I am scared. What if something goes wrong?

“Hey.” A hand grabs me, spinning me around. “You’re that woman.”

“I’m a woman,” I say to the girl with long, straight, black hair. She’s dressed in sheer pants with chains around the belly and a tight-fitting bra top. She’s beautiful.

“No, the one from the video. They caught you?”

I swallow the truth. “Yes. Just two days ago. I was taken from the birthing facility by a traitor.”

“Oh.” Her eyes fall.

“What’s wrong?”

“If they got you…”

“Then we’re fucking screwed,” another woman says. She’s showing as much skin as the rest of us.

I frown, hating that they feel this way, wanting to tell them this is something else, something more, a rescue mission, but there’s no way.

“So even with the Master gone, the system continues,” someone says.

I look around, looking for who said it. A thick woman with heavy breasts. The look on her face is both anger and distress. The tension in the room rises. I don’t know what to say, there’s nothing I can say, but I do see the shift of a woman with blonde hair in the group and pause.

I know that hair.

I stride past the others, keeping my hands bound in front of me. It’s fake of course, the bracelets make the magnets ineffective. I duck around the large woman and follow the blonde. She tries to dart away but I step in front of her. It takes everything in me not to reach out and punch her in the face.

“Hiding from me, Cass?”

“Mercy,” her eyes sweep over me. “What are you doing here?”

“The same thing you are. Being sold like a piece of meat.” Dark circles ring her eyes and she looks exhausted. I push past my anger and blink. “Wait. What are you doing here?”

Her eyes cast down and her ears turn red. “Kane lied. After he took you off the ship, he sent a team back for us. Amias and I were separated. I was brought here.”

They’d sold us out for her freedom and look what happened. That’s why you don’t make deals with asshole human traffickers.

“Do you know where Amias is?”

“No. Not a clue.” Her bottom lip trembles. She thinks he’s dead. He very well may be. “I’d heard the Custo took over the birthing ring in Cryron. I thought they’d saved you.”

“Yeah,” I say dully. “I thought so too, but like you, I think the fates have something else in store for me.”

Cassidy isn’t dumb, but she is worn down. She probably hasn’t eaten in days and from the way she carries herself, I don’t think that’s the only abuse she’s suffered in the last few weeks. As much as I hate her, I do feel bad for her. She’s a fighter and no one deserves this life.

I notice she’s wearing a necklace with a little circle hanging flat on her chest. “What’s that?”

“It’s my brand. Infertile. I’m worth less.”

My hands clench and I almost, almost confide in her, but there’s movement at the door and rage floods me as I see Kane walk in.

“Fucking prick,” Cassidy mutters under her breath.

I snort in reply.

“Ladies,” he says, rolling in. He looks handsome, like a snake-oil salesman in a fine suit. “The auction will begin soon. We’ve already got all your stats prepared so there’s no need for a final review. They’ll be placed on the data board for customers to view. Remember to smile,” he says, with a repulsive wink. “This is your life you’re thinking about. The higher the bid, the better the product is valued. Don’t sell yourself short.”

“I swear to God,” I say, low under my breath. I lock eyes with Alex and see that he’s forcing himself into restraint.

We’re told to file into a line and I feel a nudge on my shoulder. I look over and see Cassidy. “Tell me they’re coming.”

“I can’t. They’re not.”

She searches my face, I feel it and I try to hold firm. No one can know. No one can expect and honestly, I can’t trust Cassidy. Despite my silence, her chin juts up and I know she knows. She has to, because there’s only one truth in this situation.

My men will never leave me behind.

Never.

The one thing that tugs at me though as we file out of the room, is even though Cassidy seems to know something may happen, I’m not sure she cares.